Forum: Future F-16 crew

Hello everyone,

I just started AFROTC last week at UNLV. My dream is to have a job in the sky. My top two choices are pilot or bomber navigator. The only problem is I wear glasses. I assume my chances are better as each day passes, considering new technologies and such.

I was wondering if anyone could shed some light on what I have to do to accomplish my goal. Waivers, PRK, or anything that will help me out would be greatly appreciated!

My major is Business Management, and I have 27 logged flight hours.

C/4C Meredith
UNLV AFROTC Det. 004

F-16.net Sponsor

lasik surgery....in 2 weeks or so, your problem is just a memory.

whoa whoa...they are approving lasik in two weeks?

i WAS TALKING ABOUT HEALING UP TIME. THE PROCESS ISN'T THAT HARD TO GET THROUGH THOUGH. i'VE HAD TWO FRIENDS GET IT DONE AND THEIR TRAVEL WAS A PERMISSIVE TDY AND THEN THEY WENT ON CONVALESCENT (SP?) LEAVE. DIDN'T EVEN HAVE TO BURN THEIR OWN LEAVE FOR IT. THATS ACTIVE DUTY DETAILS THOUGH... Evil or Very Mad

I thought Lasik was a disqualifer?

Lasik is a disqualifer. I don't believe that there is anything they can do in AFROTC to correct your vision so that you can become a pilot. I believe the only place you can go is the Academy and have a different procedure done called PRK...at least that's what I've been told.

I went thru ROTC 2 years ago and received a waiver for my vision to fly. They will waive up to 20/70 as long as it can be corrected to 20/20 with glasses. After you clear that initial hurdle, they will waive up to 20/200 when you have your wings. I just graduate UPT (going to the viper!) and now they're letting me on the contact lense program.

If I were you, I wouldnj't try to get PRK unless your vision is really really bad, (like past 20/200). If you get the surgery, your eyes have to heal all the way to 20/20 or your disqualified. Also, if your eyes grow worse after the surgery(which is common), it disqualifies you. Bottom line, glasses will get you thru just fine.

akatyler wrote:

Bottom line, glasses will get you thru just fine.

Whoa! First time I've ever heard this sentence regarding going for a pilot slot, and good god, it put a smile on my face as surprised as I was with it. If this is true and is the case, I better start doing my research again cause I was considering doing PRK. I wear glasses, but I know my vision isn't THAT bad. I was wondering how one gets a waiver for glasses and could you give more insight to this contact lens program? And is it just for ROTC cadets(?) cause I was planning on joining a Guard unit. Thanks

- Glenn

Alright I'm a little bit confused. For now I'll go to the doctors and find out what my eyesight is and come back and find out what I have to do next. Cool

I'm a crew chief out at Luke AFB, and we have a few IP's that wear glasses.

When you categorize your junior year, they do a pre screening to make sure you meet all the req's. If you are physically able (eyes, hearing, no missing digits, etc) you can go to the pilot board to see if they'll give you a slot. Once you get your slot you go to Brooks usually in San Antonio for a flying class I and a medical screening. It is there that they find everything wrong with your physical body from heart murmurs to color blindness to hernias. If you fall short of some requirement, but are within the waiverable limits, they'll recommend you for a waiver to the surgeon general. I have waivers for my eye sight and acl surgery on my knee. Being in the guard shouldn't be any different as far as I know. All flyers go thru the same screening, except maybe the academy guys do it in colorado. Contact lenses are just nice to have, and they usually let you in on that once you're rated.

You would be surprised at how many pilots wear glasses. The criteria changes every once in a while depending on how badly the AF needs pilots, but akatyler's info is pretty much the state of things right now. However, I was under the impression that they would waive up to 20/200 even prior to starting pilot training and then they'd keep you after you got your wings regardless of how bad your eyesight got, as long as you're correctable to 20/20. When I was a junior in college my eyesight went from 20/15 to 20/50, and I never even had to talk about a waiver to get a pilot slot. Now, 8 years later, I'm about 20/70, but correctable to almost 20/10 and I fly with my contacts every day.

Rexxxx

So they'll waive even past 20/200. What I heard by the way, is as long as it corrects to 20/20, you're okay. AF.mil isn't quite clear on it.

I'm in AFROTC as a sophmore and I have had PRK. You have to have at least 3 months before you catagorize or do field training. You should also clear it up through your chain of command and get all the waiver papers. They will waiver people who wear glasses up to 20/70 for FARSIGHTEDNESS. You cannot have any nearsightedness, which is what I had. Therefore, if I wanted to fly, it was PRK or nothing. I'm now at almost 20/10 with my left eye and 20/20 with my right eye. My eye doctor is in the Guard and used to fly Vipers and BUFFs so he knows all the rules and what to do about them. I suggestest anyone thinking about PRK or waiver standers go see a military eye doctor. Thats my 2 cents.

tjodalv43 wrote:

I suggestest anyone thinking about PRK or waiver standers go see a military eye doctor. Thats my 2 cents.

YES! DO NOT GO and get PRK just out of the blue because you think you need to. I'm hopefully seeing the Flight Surgeon this weekend and she and I are going to go through the regs. My eye sight is horrible, but correctable to 20/10. (I'm sure I'm past 20/200).

From what I've gathered in research is that you must have 20/20 to apply, correctable to 20/20 from 20/70 with wavier, like mentioned before.

ALSO, you may only get a waiver for PRK if the eyesight before it was done was not worse then a certain amount. I think it was -3.25 ref. error. Don't quote me, I'll have to look it up again- I just don't remember where.

EDIT: FCI: -5.50; FCIa: -8.00; FCIII: -8.00 (Baseops.net)

The flight Surgeon did say one thing that made me also more nervous, it's not hard to get the wavier, but the person to sign it!

Good Luck to all!

Forum: Future F-16 crew

AFROTC cadet with glasses